This is an interesting idea I came up with on the spur of a moment, and couldn't help but share with you all in the hope that it could gain traction.

Suffice it to say, Congress has been a massive dud. The 112th Congress was literally the least productive in history. I highly doubt all of us would agree on the causes, so I won't even go there for the moment. My point is this: we can do better. Indeed, people of a plethora of political persuasions find refuge in DDO, and I'd say we all tend to get along pretty well (I know there are exceptions--no need to go there!).

So, what I'd like to set up is a group of people who will debate the most pressing issues of the day as they unfold--or, during dull times, we could go back to issues of the past--in the hope that we could uncover some type of deal.

Rules:1. I'd like to get about 12 people in total for this--5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 2 Independent/Other, though we could play around with these figures. Judges, arbiters, designated voters and mediators would also be helpful.2. Obviously, civility is key.3. Sources!4. Some of these issues, I imagine, would be best settled in a debate format. Two people could decide, for instance, that they'll vote on a resolution in accordance with the outcome of their debate. Be creative.

So, who would be interest in partaking in this? Hopefully I'm not being crazy in suggesting it.

At 2/9/2014 8:30:25 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:This is an interesting idea I came up with on the spur of a moment, and couldn't help but share with you all in the hope that it could gain traction.

Suffice it to say, Congress has been a massive dud. The 112th Congress was literally the least productive in history. I highly doubt all of us would agree on the causes, so I won't even go there for the moment. My point is this: we can do better. Indeed, people of a plethora of political persuasions find refuge in DDO, and I'd say we all tend to get along pretty well (I know there are exceptions--no need to go there!).

So, what I'd like to set up is a group of people who will debate the most pressing issues of the day as they unfold--or, during dull times, we could go back to issues of the past--in the hope that we could uncover some type of deal.

Rules:1. I'd like to get about 12 people in total for this--5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 2 Independent/Other, though we could play around with these figures. Judges, arbiters, designated voters and mediators would also be helpful.2. Obviously, civility is key.3. Sources!4. Some of these issues, I imagine, would be best settled in a debate format. Two people could decide, for instance, that they'll vote on a resolution in accordance with the outcome of their debate. Be creative.

So, who would be interest in partaking in this? Hopefully I'm not being crazy in suggesting it.

ok 1) When has Congress ever been civil?2) Is this just some way to get people to debate over certain topics or is there some other goal here that im missing here?3) How is this is even related to Congress? Again, I dont see the connection.

: At 5/13/2014 7:05:20 PM, Crescendo wrote:
: The difference is that the gay movement is currently pushing their will on Churches, as shown in the link to gay marriage in Denmark. Meanwhile, the Inquisition ended several centuries ago.

At 2/9/2014 8:30:25 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:This is an interesting idea I came up with on the spur of a moment, and couldn't help but share with you all in the hope that it could gain traction.

Suffice it to say, Congress has been a massive dud. The 112th Congress was literally the least productive in history. I highly doubt all of us would agree on the causes, so I won't even go there for the moment. My point is this: we can do better. Indeed, people of a plethora of political persuasions find refuge in DDO, and I'd say we all tend to get along pretty well (I know there are exceptions--no need to go there!).

So, what I'd like to set up is a group of people who will debate the most pressing issues of the day as they unfold--or, during dull times, we could go back to issues of the past--in the hope that we could uncover some type of deal.

Rules:1. I'd like to get about 12 people in total for this--5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 2 Independent/Other, though we could play around with these figures. Judges, arbiters, designated voters and mediators would also be helpful.2. Obviously, civility is key.3. Sources!4. Some of these issues, I imagine, would be best settled in a debate format. Two people could decide, for instance, that they'll vote on a resolution in accordance with the outcome of their debate. Be creative.

So, who would be interest in partaking in this? Hopefully I'm not being crazy in suggesting it.

ok 1) When has Congress ever been civil?2) Is this just some way to get people to debate over certain topics or is there some other goal here that im missing here?3) How is this is even related to Congress? Again, I dont see the connection.

1. Well, you could make the case that Congress has never been civil if we're using it as an absolute term. But, vis-a-vis Congress today, it has been civil historically--yes, Strom Thurman filibustering the Civil Rights Act for 24 hours wasn't civil, but hopefully we can look past that. I'd like to think that we can achieve a higher standard.

2. Debating over certain topics is a goal, I'd say. Frankly, the overarching premise that I'd like to convey is that a group of intelligent, sensible people should be able to hash out these issues.

3. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of or participated in Model UN or something of the sort. Essentially, this would be exactly like that, though a microcosm of it since we couldn't possibly find enough people to replicate the actual Congress.

At 2/9/2014 8:30:25 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:This is an interesting idea I came up with on the spur of a moment, and couldn't help but share with you all in the hope that it could gain traction.

Suffice it to say, Congress has been a massive dud. The 112th Congress was literally the least productive in history. I highly doubt all of us would agree on the causes, so I won't even go there for the moment. My point is this: we can do better. Indeed, people of a plethora of political persuasions find refuge in DDO, and I'd say we all tend to get along pretty well (I know there are exceptions--no need to go there!).

So, what I'd like to set up is a group of people who will debate the most pressing issues of the day as they unfold--or, during dull times, we could go back to issues of the past--in the hope that we could uncover some type of deal.

Rules:1. I'd like to get about 12 people in total for this--5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 2 Independent/Other, though we could play around with these figures. Judges, arbiters, designated voters and mediators would also be helpful.2. Obviously, civility is key.3. Sources!4. Some of these issues, I imagine, would be best settled in a debate format. Two people could decide, for instance, that they'll vote on a resolution in accordance with the outcome of their debate. Be creative.

So, who would be interest in partaking in this? Hopefully I'm not being crazy in suggesting it.

Interested but not quite hooked yet. I saw you used Model UN as an example above.

How would this model Congress work out? How would this Congress function? Would there be committees? Caucuses? Also 12 people is an even amount which leaves room for ties. Shouldn't there be an uneven number of independents?

Also be it noted that no other Congress in United States history has had to deal with as many bills or laws. Remember even cutting a tree down in your own backyard requires a permit. To try and say, it is the least productive Congress is to ignore the extent in which society has become politicized. From what I have observed there is nothing in this country that is not politicized. Versus the last two centuries where many things were not politicized at all.

At 2/9/2014 8:30:25 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:This is an interesting idea I came up with on the spur of a moment, and couldn't help but share with you all in the hope that it could gain traction.

Suffice it to say, Congress has been a massive dud. The 112th Congress was literally the least productive in history. I highly doubt all of us would agree on the causes, so I won't even go there for the moment. My point is this: we can do better. Indeed, people of a plethora of political persuasions find refuge in DDO, and I'd say we all tend to get along pretty well (I know there are exceptions--no need to go there!).

So, what I'd like to set up is a group of people who will debate the most pressing issues of the day as they unfold--or, during dull times, we could go back to issues of the past--in the hope that we could uncover some type of deal.

Rules:1. I'd like to get about 12 people in total for this--5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 2 Independent/Other, though we could play around with these figures. Judges, arbiters, designated voters and mediators would also be helpful.2. Obviously, civility is key.3. Sources!4. Some of these issues, I imagine, would be best settled in a debate format. Two people could decide, for instance, that they'll vote on a resolution in accordance with the outcome of their debate. Be creative.

So, who would be interest in partaking in this? Hopefully I'm not being crazy in suggesting it.

Interested but not quite hooked yet. I saw you used Model UN as an example above.

How would this model Congress work out? How would this Congress function? Would there be committees? Caucuses? Also 12 people is an even amount which leaves room for ties. Shouldn't there be an uneven number of independents?

Also be it noted that no other Congress in United States history has had to deal with as many bills or laws. Remember even cutting a tree down in your own backyard requires a permit. To try and say, it is the least productive Congress is to ignore the extent in which society has become politicized. From what I have observed there is nothing in this country that is not politicized. Versus the last two centuries where many things were not politicized at all.

I didn't consider committees or caucuses. It's certainly something we could do if there's enough support for it, and it may be a bit more organized than a free-for-all. I'm certainly open to suggestions. My idea for how we could do this, at least initially, was to have a discussion thread in the politics thread followed by a vote, and in the process, we may need to hold debates--I would imagine with short argument deadlines, but again, that's dependent of a lot of other variables--to solidify support.

That's a fair point on independents. The logic was, Democrats and Republicans would tend to vote 5-5, and the independents would likely be swayed to one side. It almost provides an incentive for, say, a libertarian-leaning Democrat to draw in a Rand Paul libertarian. Honestly though, we could extend the independent count if there's enough interest. It would probably even be helpful to have an odd number to prevent a tie, though I'm almost inclined to think that the real fun comes with resolving a stalemate.

I agree with your assessment, also, but I was going off the number of bills that were passed in the recent Congress. In spite of their immense obligations, the last Congress passed fewer bills than every Congress before them--I think the figure was 65.

At 2/9/2014 8:30:25 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:This is an interesting idea I came up with on the spur of a moment, and couldn't help but share with you all in the hope that it could gain traction.

Suffice it to say, Congress has been a massive dud. The 112th Congress was literally the least productive in history. I highly doubt all of us would agree on the causes, so I won't even go there for the moment. My point is this: we can do better. Indeed, people of a plethora of political persuasions find refuge in DDO, and I'd say we all tend to get along pretty well (I know there are exceptions--no need to go there!).

So, what I'd like to set up is a group of people who will debate the most pressing issues of the day as they unfold--or, during dull times, we could go back to issues of the past--in the hope that we could uncover some type of deal.

Rules:1. I'd like to get about 12 people in total for this--5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 2 Independent/Other, though we could play around with these figures. Judges, arbiters, designated voters and mediators would also be helpful.2. Obviously, civility is key.3. Sources!4. Some of these issues, I imagine, would be best settled in a debate format. Two people could decide, for instance, that they'll vote on a resolution in accordance with the outcome of their debate. Be creative.

So, who would be interest in partaking in this? Hopefully I'm not being crazy in suggesting it.

Interested but not quite hooked yet. I saw you used Model UN as an example above.

How would this model Congress work out? How would this Congress function? Would there be committees? Caucuses? Also 12 people is an even amount which leaves room for ties. Shouldn't there be an uneven number of independents?

Also be it noted that no other Congress in United States history has had to deal with as many bills or laws. Remember even cutting a tree down in your own backyard requires a permit. To try and say, it is the least productive Congress is to ignore the extent in which society has become politicized. From what I have observed there is nothing in this country that is not politicized. Versus the last two centuries where many things were not politicized at all.

I didn't consider committees or caucuses. It's certainly something we could do if there's enough support for it, and it may be a bit more organized than a free-for-all. I'm certainly open to suggestions. My idea for how we could do this, at least initially, was to have a discussion thread in the politics thread followed by a vote, and in the process, we may need to hold debates--I would imagine with short argument deadlines, but again, that's dependent of a lot of other variables--to solidify support.

That's a fair point on independents. The logic was, Democrats and Republicans would tend to vote 5-5, and the independents would likely be swayed to one side. It almost provides an incentive for, say, a libertarian-leaning Democrat to draw in a Rand Paul libertarian. Honestly though, we could extend the independent count if there's enough interest. It would probably even be helpful to have an odd number to prevent a tie, though I'm almost inclined to think that the real fun comes with resolving a stalemate.

I agree with your assessment, also, but I was going off the number of bills that were passed in the recent Congress. In spite of their immense obligations, the last Congress passed fewer bills than every Congress before them--I think the figure was 65.

Count me in as a Republican. You should call it the DDO Congress and gather a list together of those who are interested so far(post it on this thread).

I'm glad to see that there's so much interest. DDO Congress sounds like a great idea. I'll change it to that as soon as we begin in the Politics section, or if we start a new topic before then.

The only point I'd make about adding another independent--and I'm not opposed to doing it--is I think the ties are, honesty, what the point of all this is. Moreover, what's stopping someone who leans one way from registering as an independent to sway the vote? I'm not suggesting that anyone here would do that, but it's something to consider.

Current sign-up list is below. From this point, if you'd like to sign up, please quote this post and add your name to the list.

Also, Iannan13 didn't post his party, but his profile says Republican, so I think that's the obvious place to put him.

A good point about the a third independent. I think just 12 is a good idea seeing as to how it would force one party to put forth more effort to convince 1 or more of the opposing parties members to join thier side in order to win.

At 2/10/2014 3:46:39 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:I'm glad to see that there's so much interest. DDO Congress sounds like a great idea. I'll change it to that as soon as we begin in the Politics section, or if we start a new topic before then.

The only point I'd make about adding another independent--and I'm not opposed to doing it--is I think the ties are, honesty, what the point of all this is. Moreover, what's stopping someone who leans one way from registering as an independent to sway the vote? I'm not suggesting that anyone here would do that, but it's something to consider.

Current sign-up list is below. From this point, if you'd like to sign up, please quote this post and add your name to the list.

Also, Iannan13 didn't post his party, but his profile says Republican, so I think that's the obvious place to put him.

So, we need a few more people for this to began--particularly Democrats--so I highly encourage you all to start mass-PM'ing this topic, haha.

Also, the sooner we complete the signups, the sooner we can begin to discuss and vote on the rules--e.g., will there will be a filibuster, how many people are needed to break it, will we have caucuses, committees, majority/minority leaders, etc.

At 2/11/2014 1:11:42 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:So, we need a few more people for this to began--particularly Democrats--so I highly encourage you all to start mass-PM'ing this topic, haha.

Also, the sooner we complete the signups, the sooner we can begin to discuss and vote on the rules--e.g., will there will be a filibuster, how many people are needed to break it, will we have caucuses, committees, majority/minority leaders, etc.

Has anyone else joined? I am curious, is this DDO Congress thing happening or was it just for something for us to get excited about? But most likely will not happen.

At 2/11/2014 1:11:42 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:So, we need a few more people for this to began--particularly Democrats--so I highly encourage you all to start mass-PM'ing this topic, haha.

Also, the sooner we complete the signups, the sooner we can begin to discuss and vote on the rules--e.g., will there will be a filibuster, how many people are needed to break it, will we have caucuses, committees, majority/minority leaders, etc.

Has anyone else joined? I am curious, is this DDO Congress thing happening or was it just for something for us to get excited about? But most likely will not happen.

At 2/11/2014 1:11:42 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:So, we need a few more people for this to began--particularly Democrats--so I highly encourage you all to start mass-PM'ing this topic, haha.

Also, the sooner we complete the signups, the sooner we can begin to discuss and vote on the rules--e.g., will there will be a filibuster, how many people are needed to break it, will we have caucuses, committees, majority/minority leaders, etc.

Has anyone else joined? I am curious, is this DDO Congress thing happening or was it just for something for us to get excited about? But most likely will not happen.

I have every intention for it to happen. We just need more people.

I want to be on the republican ticket. If your desperate for democrats I'm willing to take on a new persona.

At 2/11/2014 1:11:42 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:So, we need a few more people for this to began--particularly Democrats--so I highly encourage you all to start mass-PM'ing this topic, haha.

Also, the sooner we complete the signups, the sooner we can begin to discuss and vote on the rules--e.g., will there will be a filibuster, how many people are needed to break it, will we have caucuses, committees, majority/minority leaders, etc.

Has anyone else joined? I am curious, is this DDO Congress thing happening or was it just for something for us to get excited about? But most likely will not happen.

At 2/11/2014 1:11:42 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:So, we need a few more people for this to began--particularly Democrats--so I highly encourage you all to start mass-PM'ing this topic, haha.

Also, the sooner we complete the signups, the sooner we can begin to discuss and vote on the rules--e.g., will there will be a filibuster, how many people are needed to break it, will we have caucuses, committees, majority/minority leaders, etc.

Has anyone else joined? I am curious, is this DDO Congress thing happening or was it just for something for us to get excited about? But most likely will not happen.

At 2/11/2014 1:11:42 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:So, we need a few more people for this to began--particularly Democrats--so I highly encourage you all to start mass-PM'ing this topic, haha.

Also, the sooner we complete the signups, the sooner we can begin to discuss and vote on the rules--e.g., will there will be a filibuster, how many people are needed to break it, will we have caucuses, committees, majority/minority leaders, etc.

Has anyone else joined? I am curious, is this DDO Congress thing happening or was it just for something for us to get excited about? But most likely will not happen.

Any luck in finding interested people, anyone? If we don't manage to find enough in, say, the next few days, I think we may want to consider reducing the figures to 3 Democrats/3 Republicans/3 Independents, and then adding more people as we go. Just an idea. I do intend for this to actually happen, but it's a bit difficult with our current numbers.

At 2/12/2014 9:56:09 PM, progressivedem22 wrote:Any luck in finding interested people, anyone? If we don't manage to find enough in, say, the next few days, I think we may want to consider reducing the figures to 3 Democrats/3 Republicans/3 Independents, and then adding more people as we go. Just an idea. I do intend for this to actually happen, but it's a bit difficult with our current numbers.